Back with a giveaway!

Guys, I can't believe it's been almost a whole year since I last wrote on this little blog of mine. Where has the time gone?! What's new with you?

The main reason for my absence has been quite simple. It sounds like a cliche, but I struggled to find the time and space to sew. Let me explain. We've done quite a bit of work on the house since I last posted, and after the last 3.5 years of hard work, it is starting to feel more like ours. It does mean, though, that whenever a room needs refurbishing/renovating/ripping-out and starting over, my lovely girl cave becomes the storage room, or during the most recent project, our bedroom. 

After a few big projects, followed by quite a lot of clearing up, I've finally reclaimed my sewing room, and it is time that I get back to sewing. 

Oh how I have missed sewing, and my little blog, which, coincidentally, has turned 6 this Friday!

I'm partly reassured, however, that upon return, a) I still seem to know my way around my sewing machine(s), and b) whilst vlogs and instagram have transformed blog-sphere, there still appears to be people blogging, and reading blogs. 

Now, what better way to return than with a giveaway? 

In my trip to Bali this time last year, I made a special trip to Denpasar, to visit the batik shops, including the wonderful Dewi Mas, to top up my stash with some more exotic pieces. After buying a couple of fun cotton batiks and a vibrant piece of viscose for myself (projects featuring them are coming soon!), I couldn't not pick up a beautiful cotton piece (2m long, 1.06m wide) for a lucky reader as well ;) 

What do you think?

To enter, simply leave a comment before midnight (BST) Friday 22 September, and the winner will be picked out of a hat. 

A couple of pictures from the shop:

Before I go, I wanted to share my sewing to-do list with you. Remember my sewing blackboard? Most of these are pretty simple yet effective, so should be perfect for easing me back into sewing, before trying out more ambitious projects (like sewing activewear and more undergarments, which I really want to do). What's more? They are stash busting, which is much needed.  

Aaah I must admit, it is great to be back. I can't wait to share my completed projects with you very soon. 

Giveaway winner!

Thank you for all of you that have participated in the giveaway. I am really appreciative of all the stories and experiences that you've shared about how sewing changed your lives - I very much enjoyed reading them, and it was nice to see some common themes coming out. 

But without further ado, it's time to announce the winner! 

Drum roll please..... and the winner...by random selection...is....

Sabine Delannoy! 

Congratulations Sabine! Please could you drop me an email with your address at xinyuealice0803 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you could do this in the next couple of days I'll be able to post the fabric over before I head off to China this weekend, but otherwise I'll send it when I get back in 2.5 weeks time :)

Have a great weekend everyone! 

How sewing has changed my life, & blogiversary giveaway!

Hello readers! I hope this post finds you well. Can you believe that another year has gone by? This little blog of mine is 3 years old today! 

I've got something different, and something of a tradition for you today. 

Starting with the something different, instead of reflecting on my projects this year, at this 3-year point, I think we are ready to look back and reflect on how sewing has changed my life. Not a grand topic or anything, I know. 

Firstly, sewing has made me realise that I need time to be able to enjoy my life, and amongst other things, this was one of the reasons why I decided to move on in terms of jobs a few months ago. Knowing that I should make time for something that I truly enjoy was liberating, and being able to make this happen was absolutely brilliant. I am much happier with myself as a result. You see, it can be life-changing! 

Secondly, sewing has made me more familiar with my own body shape. Don't get me wrong, I never though I had massive boobs, hips, or legs that went on for miles, but fitting my own clothes had been very helpful in getting to know my own body shape well, and where it might be smaller/shorter/flatter/fatter than the "standard" shape (i.e. where the pattern alterations typically are). 

Following from the second positive change, with clothes that fit better, I feel much more comfortable and confident in my outfits, and in my own skin. I also take pride in what I wear more, and it is a great conversation starter with strangers. 

The next change sewing has made is that I spend less buying clothes, but spend more on fabric/haberdashery/sewing machines. There have been so many times where I'm browsing through shops, and thought to myself, "what a cute dress/top/skirt/trousers/pjs", but then immediately thought "I could make that so easily!" Of course more often than not, I don't then go away and end up making it, but if I don't miss it after a few days, I clearly didn't need it to start with. I often find that when I shop now, I focus more on how complex the construction of the garment is, as opposed to how it looks. Geeky or what?!

The final thing that I want to mention is that sewing made me feel part of a really great community. When I had a quick weekend stop in NYC, what did I do first? I emailed Sonja from Ginger Makes. I've also received emails from readers about nearby fabric shops, or asking for tips on wedding dress makings, and I do love helping out where I can. It really does overwhelm me sometimes, in a great way of course! 

So that's me. How about you? Has sewing changed your life? 

Now that's off my chest, it's time for a great tradition - the blogiversary giveaway! 

Remember this little project? Yep, I've got some of that lovely fabric left over to give away! 

It measures 1.5m wide and 1.56m long at the shorter end, and approx 2m long. It's funky, it's lightweight, and it's 100% natural cotton. I can confirm that it is very comfortable to wear, and doesn't even wrinkle too much. What more could you possibly want? 

To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment below, by Sunday 14th September (closing at midnight BST). I'm happy to post to anywhere in the world, so do feel free to enter wherever you are. The winner will be announced on Monday 15th. Best of luck!  

Giveaway winners!

It's time! Thanks to the "randbetween" function on Excel, I'm pleased to announce that the winners from the blogiversay giveaway are:

Winner of the fabric -- Elena from Tea for Two
Winner of the lavender -- Maud Parent from MP by Maud

Congratulations! I can't wait to see what you make!

Please could you let me have your postal address?

Giveaway - blogiversary and 100th post!

As promised, it's time for a giveaway! It's a special occasion -- today it's the 2nd blogiversary for this little blog of mine. This is also the 100th post on Moonbeam, and I just realised that I have 100 followers on Google Friends Connect as of today!

To mark this occasion, I've got 2 freebies for you to grab. First of all, this beautiful lightweight cotton. It's 2.50m long and 1.10m wide - don't you just love the delicate pattern? It would be perfect for a summer dress, or a cute little top (the Alma Blouse, anyone?)

The second freebie is some dried lavender. Remember the lavender bags that I made earlier this year for my mother-in-law's wedding as favours? I have over 500 grams left, and although it is making the house smell incredibly relaxing, I thought it would be time to part with it, and let it go to another home. 

To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post before the end of Saturday 21 September (midnight GMT). If you would prefer to enter for only one freebie, please indicate this in your comment. Otherwise I will assume that you are entering for both. Everyone is welcome to enter, and I will ship them worldwide. The winners will be picked at random, and announced on Sunday 22 September. Any questions, just ask. 

Best of luck! And happy giveaway!

1st blog-iversary and 1st giveaway!

This little blog of mine is 1-year-old today! I can't believe it!

Despite accidentally deleting my first ever post last week (oops! I noticed that the font was too small, but when I tried to make the text bigger, the update brought it out as a new post... obviously then I went into a state of panic, and accidentally deleted it! But hey, it didn't say all that much), I remembered that today is indeed Moonbeam's first birthday! 

Too bad I haven't baked a cake for it (yet), but I thought perhaps I could try to do my first ever giveaway (if the response is good, I'll do more giveaways in the future)! 

Looking back over the last 12 months, I'm really pleased with how many clicks Moonbeam has received (about 20,000) and my lovely followers :D I am also surprised to find how many sewing projects that I fitted into (no pun intended) my busy schedule, not to mention to oh-so-time-consuming wedding dress! 

I thought I'd pick some favourites -  

•  Favourite dressy pattern: Simplicity 4070 

• Favourite casual pattern: Simplicity 2444 but since I've just finished my first version of Mccall's 2401, and am working on my second, I'm also struggling to get that one out of my head!

• First homemade dress worn to a work event (Summer Ball 2012): the Serena dress
• Favourite dress: the wedding dress of course
• Most fun to make (besides the wedding dress): the green Serena dress
• Most popular dress on the blog (again, besides the wedding dress): the green Serena dress

Now the giveaway - as my Serena dress has had the most clicks, I thought I could do a related giveaway to celebrate the blog-iversary. 

I have over 2 metres (144cm width) of the rich green "dupion" (this was sold as a silk dupion, though I was rather sceptical about its true nature. That said, I thought it was a treat to work with and gave really good result) which I used for the Serena dress to giveaway! I did try to take a photo of the fabric but I don't think the lovely colour is showing through too well:

I think the picture below is a slightly better representation of the colour:

And just to remind you, the finished dress looked like: 

Comment before 30 September 2012 to win! Although it is not necessary for winning the giveaway, I would, as always be interested to hear what you think of the blog - be it your favourite post, favourite tutorial, what I could do to improve it... anything will be welcome. 

Best of luck! and please don't be shy. Also please don't worry if you don't live in the same country as me - I will post it to anywhere in the world. I can't wait to see what you make with it!